tourism to PNG

The National reported on p3 asde the speech of the PNG Treasurer to the Austln Press Club: "It concerns me that A's level of personal engagement and knowledge of PNG is diminishing ." 'He also raised concern at the lack of desire of A'ns to see and explore PNG's cultural diversity and beauty as major tourist destinations.'
I'm one of the A'ns who would not have come up here in normal circumstances. I haven't been to Perth or Darwin either. But the price for getting here and the prices for what you get when you get here are a deterrent compared with what you can get for going to Bali or SE Asia or Fiji (K3200 = $A1400 return Lae-Brisbane air only. Compare that with air-resort packages to other places ((Hong Kong 4 ns $A1214). Despite my mobile phone incident and the con man and a previous attempt by pick pockets, I am glad I am here. My wonwoks and Peter and Betti and Joseph and Fr Stanley as well as adventurous ex-pats from everywhere are teaching me more about myself and the meaning of life which would have been the shallower for not being here. There comes a time when PNG itself has to take a stand against corruption and the failing infrastructure and the prices of its monopolies Telekom, Electricty and Air Niu Guinea and the criminals. AusAid and the Japanese and European Union and China can't go propping it up forever. I see the productive capacity out around Ramu -sugar, beef and palm oil and realise the mineral capacity at OkTedi and Porgera and the fruits - and I see Somalia and Ethiopia. Why? A bar of gold in a barrel of oil surrounded by pinapple, banana and pawpaw compared with women and children eating leaves and roots of trees in East Africa. Why? What must the Somalis and Ethiopians think?